Meet Dean Vanderslice, Owner of edits!, and Learn to Harness the Clean Power of Essential Oils

ACHS Certificate in Aromatherapy Graduate Dean Vanderslice has found a unique way to combine her passions. Dean, owner of edits!, offers her clients more than one-day redesigns—she provides a fresh start.

“Our goal is to introduce a new beauty and function creating a new energy for living a more inspired life…naturally,” Dean says.

Edits! specializes in transforming homes and offices into stylish spaces by reusing, repurposing, and restyling things clients already own. While moving through a client’s space, edits! cleans, nourishes, and refreshes hard and soft surfaces with a line of non-toxic essential oil products Dean created.

“My confidence and passion for using essential oils in this way came from desperation, as most change does,” Dean says.

Six years ago, Dean’s husband underwent a stem cell transplant for a diagnosis of cancer. His doctor wanted him to live at home through the process because his body would already be used to bacteria, fungus, etc., living in the home verses a new environment, like the hospital. However, through the yearlong process, preventing exposure to new and seasonal “bugs” was critical.

“I was daunted by the task of keeping our home with two young children, two dogs, and lots of activity free of new germs,” Dean says. “I knew in my gut that Clorox and Lysol were not the answer for someone whose system was already being flooded with toxins. Thanks to my discovery of essential oils, we all survived and even thrived.”

Dean continued using essential oils to clean and disinfect her home, and soon began experimenting with using natural ingredients boosted by essential oils to counteract her husband’s chemo-dried skin. She also experimented with recipes for her daughters if they had sore muscles or started to get stuffy noses.

“I realized that since the use of essential oils, we had never been healthier. And I had to know more,” Dean says. “I found ACHS and was drawn to it because it was as serious as I was about utilizing the value of these amazing, therapeutic oils. I didn’t want fluff; I wanted real scientific information on why these oils worked and how to utilize them to their full potential. I got that and more. It was my first online study and although the coursework could be quite challenging, the process was simple. I enjoyed all my classes and was amazed and grateful that such acclaimed instructors took such time to develop us, not only as future aromatherapists, but business people as well.”

“As a mother of two teenage daughters, a wife to a husband who is a cancer survivor, and a business owner, I endorse a life that is simply free from artificial chemicals,” Dean says. “From what we eat, to what we put on our body, to what we clean our homes with—nature provides.”

For more information about edits! and Dean’s chemical-free products and philosophy, visit edits! online at http://www.editsinteriors.com/ or email Dean at dean@editsinteriors.com

For more information about the ACHS Certificate in Aromatherapy, visit ACHS online at http://www.achs.edu/course-desc.aspx?pid=10&id=1

Juicing is a Natural, Easy-to-Use, and Affordable Way to Help Flush Toxins

It's that time of year again ... time to give the body a boost with a little clean up and clean out.

Juice therapy—or juicing—is a natural, easy-to-use, and affordable way to help flush toxins, leftover wastes, sitting sedentary in your body. Flushing toxins helps improve major body functions, as well as overall vitality, energy, healthy skin, and heart health, to name a few benefits.

Here are some common juicing fruits and vegetables, and the heath support they are associated with:

• Apple: general cleanser, fights infection, and stimulates digestion
• Apricot: blood builder, constipation, and skin problems
• Lemon: gout, arthritis, laxative, and sore throats (always dilute)
• Cabbage: obesity, antiseptic, duodenal ulcers, and constipation
• Celery: all arthritic disorders, builds blood, and diuretic

Juice is a relatively mild cleanse and can be done at home daily. One 8-oz glass would be a healthy addition to the daily diet. Why juice? First—when made into juices, fruits and vegetables have concentrated amounts of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and antioxidants. Second—juicing increases the bioavailability of these nutrients. (Bioavailability is the rate at which a substance, in this case the health properties of the juiced fruits and vegetables, are absorbed by the body. In general, juiced fruits and veggies are absorbed by the body at a faster rate than when eaten whole or cooked.)

Juice fresh. Don’t juice, then store for later consumption. Doing this can lead to a loss of minerals, vitamins, and enzymes. You can make juices from fruit combinations or vegetable combinations, but do not mix fruit and vegetables. The combination of fruit and vegetables impairs digestion and limit the assimilation of nutrients.

Do you juice? We want to hear from you! Post your best juicing tips and recipes.

Grapefruit Seed Extract Q & A

Grapefruit seed extract (GSE) is an item commonly available in health food stores and a commonly held perception is that the product is “natural.” However, as it turns out, the “natural” designation may be inaccurate. The study “Identification of Benzethonium Chloride in Commercial Grapefruit Seed Extracts” (Takeoka, Dao, Wong, Lundin, Mahoney, 2001) states “the composition of commercial GSE is not defined, and its methods of production are proprietary and not specified,”[1] which leaves some question about its safety for internal use.

Several studies have found part of the “proprietary” ingredients include potentially harmful preservatives. In fact, to our knowledge, no authenticated GSE has been found to be free of preservatives; therefore, it is unclear if tested GSE has been found effective because of the effects of preservative ingredients, such as benzethonium chloride, methylparaben, and triclosan.

Each of these ingredients—benzethonium chloride, methylparaben, and triclosan— has a profile on the Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database and we encourage you to conduct some personal research into their potential effects on the body. (Skin Deep is a personal care safety guide compiled by researchers at the nonprofit Environmental Working Group.)

For example, the Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database links benzethonium chloride with potential cancer risks and moderate risk for neurotoxicity and organ system toxicity[2]. Similarly, methylparaben and triclosan have both been linked to cancer, as well as endocrine disruption[3] and potential skin, eye, and lung irritation[4].

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) triclosan fact sheet lists triclosan as an antimicrobial pesticide used commercially, industrially, residentially, and as a materials preservative included in items like hand soaps, toothpastes, adhesives, fabrics, and carpeting[5].

However, triclosan is a potential endocrine disruptor in humans. A 2006 study (Veldhoen et al.), “investigated whether exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations of the bactericidal agent, triclosan, induces changes in the thyroid hormone-mediated process of metamorphosis of the North American bullfrog,” and found low levels of exposure to triclosan disrupted thyroid hormone-associated gene expression, potentially altering “the rate of thyroid hormone-mediated postembryonic anuran development”[6].

In addition, triclosan has been found to inhibit photosynthesis in diatom algae, a major group of algae that contributes much of the photosynthetic activity necessary for a healthy ecosystem.[7] Through photosynthesis, diatom produce food and oxygen for other organisms, contributing “an estimated 80 percent of the oxygen in our atmosphere, making them essential to life on earth” (Beyond Pesticides, 2010)[8]. This of special concern when you consider triclosan may remain in the environment for 30 or more years[9].

Read the full-length article "Health Benefits of Grapefruit Seed Extract: Follow Up Q & A" from the March 2011 edition of ACHS' The Reporter online here.

References
[1] Takeoka, G., Dao, L., Wong, R., Lundin, R., Mahoney, N. (2001). Identification of Benzethonium Chloride in Commercial Grapefruit Seed Extracts. J. Agric. Food Chem. 49, 3316-3320.
[2] Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database. (2011). BENZETHONIUM CHLORIDE. Retrieved from http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/ingredient.php?ingred06=700675
[3] Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database. (2011). METHYLPARABEN. Retrieved from http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/ingredient.php?ingred06=703937
[4] Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database. (2011). TRICLOSAN. Retrieved from
http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/ingredient.php?ingred06=706623
[5] Environmental Protection Agency. (2011, February 16). Triclosan Facts. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/REDs/factsheets/triclosan_fs.htm
[6] Veldhoen, N., Skirrow, R., Osachoff, H., Wigmore, H., Clapson, D., Gunderson, M., et al. (2006). The bactericidal agent triclosan modulates thyroid hormone-associated gene expression and disrupts postembryonic anuran development. Aquatic Toxicology 80(3,1), 217-227. Abstract obtained from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6T4G-4M0S2Y9-1/2/1607f34b5f4663b9c487f0481cab2162
[7] Ricart, M., Guasch, H., Alberch, M., et al. (2010). Triclosan persistence through wastewater treatment plants and its potential toxic effects on river biofilms. Aquat. Toxicol. 100 (4): 346–53. Abstract retrieved fromhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T4G-50X2N91-1&_user=10&_coverDate=11%2F15%2F2010&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_origin=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=414efe7118e37abee086f61c1531b2be&searchtype=a
[8] Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog. (2010, November 15). Triclosan in Waterways Harmful to Important Microorganisms. Retrieved from http://www.beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/?p=4523
[9] Singer, H., Muller, S., Tixier, C., Pillonel, L. (2002). Triclosan: occurrence and fate of a widely used biocide in the aquatic environment: field measurements in wastewater treatment plants, surface waters, and lake sediments. Environ Sci Technol 1;36(23):4998-5004. Abstract retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12523412

ACHS Master Herbalist Graduate Pamela Morey Recognized By Cambridge Who's Who

Congratulations Pamela Morey, ACHS Master Herbalist graduate! Pamela has been recognized by Cambridge's Who's Who for demonstrating dedication, leadership, and excellence in holistic healing.

"My clients are the most complicated cases," Pamela said in her Who's Who interview. "They come to me asking for help to heal the incurable. I help those no one else can help."

Pamela attributes her success "to her ability to teach clients how to safely remove toxins and parasites from their bodies, a technique she learned from internationally recognized Iridologist, Dr. Bernard Jensen, Ph.D., N.D., D.C. In addition to extensive field training, Ms. Morey (who was certified as an Iridologist by the late Dr. Bernard Jensen) also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and a Standard life Teaching Credential from California State University at Long Beach, and a Master Herbalist Diploma where she graduated with Honors from Australasian College of Health Sciences [now the American College of Healthcare Sciences]."

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Read the full article Pamela Morey Offers Leading Holistic Therapies in Conjunction with Iridology here.

Have You Seen Numen? It's the first feature-length film to explore traditional herbal medicine use in the US!

Have you heard of the new documentary Numen: The Nature of Plants? If not, you may want to check out the film's website. Numen--or, the animating force in nature, as defined in the film--is the first feature-length film dedicated to the exploration of traditional herbal medicine in the United States.

In addition to footage of medicinal plants, the film features interview spots with herbal medicine leaders, including Drs. Tiearona Lowdog and Larry Dossey, and Bioneers Co-Founder Kenny Ausubel (and many others!) on whole-plant medicine, ecological medicine, environmental toxins, the limits of allopathic medicine, and spirit and healing.

Watch the 10-minute preview here: http://www.numenfilm.com/ The film's website also includes links to info about the film, the filmmakers, and a resource guide.

We added Numen's Facebook page to our favorites. Here's the link: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Portland-OR/American-College-of-Healthcare-Sciences/99091122240